“He has lost his mind” this is what Trump said of Bannon, his senior advisor who was fired in August. Bannon is featured a book with explosive revelations about Trump, adding to the heat caused by the investigation into the collusion with the Russians. More importantly by losing Bannon Trump will be losing access to […]

Seemingly a long time ago, the United States could rightly be called the leader of the free world. In two world wars, America finally responded to help the allies win both. With the drawing of an iron curtain across Europe in 1946, the United States rallied friendly states to halt the spread of Soviet influence […]

The Trump administration reportedly is in the throes of concocting a “new” strategy for Afghanistan. No White House wants to lose a war, especially one that has its provenance in 1980 with the decision to arm the Afghan Mujahedeen against the invading Soviet army and in 2001 with the U.S. invasion into Afghanistan to punish […]

Conventional wisdom holds that President Donald J. Trump is a non-politician who brought a disruptive and largely business-based approach to elected office. As a result, Trump has largely surrounded himself with Cabinet officers and senior staff who have succeeded in business. And the president bragged how easy governing would be and how great he would […]

As the Arab Spring has slowly failed, Western investors in democracy focused their attention to the only democracy, however weak and menaced. Tunisia’s current challenges include terrorism, corruption, religious and economic cleavages, as well as lack of trust in its leaders. All of these influence the security environment and are crucial both for Tunisia as […]

As this goes to press, most readers will be surprised to know that in Europe, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, about 30,000 NATO soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen, will be conducting major military exercises known as war games. A flotilla of NATO warships will be entering the Black Sea as part of these […]

President Donald Trump has very robust plans to "rebuild" America’s defenses. He wants to add about 100,000 more ground forces; expand the Navy from 280 to 350 ships; and provide the Air Force 1,200 fighters. These are ambitious and extraordinarily expensive aspirations. But more about that shortly. In Brussels, speaking at a major conference, Chairman […]

“Beware the Ides of March.” So Julius Caesar was cautioned. Caesar ignored the warning and was assassinated. Over this past Ides of March, President Donald Trump performed a double “hat trick.” The phrase was invented in 1858 at an English cricket match. The bowler, H.H. Stevenson, took three wickets with three successive bowls. To mark […]

What might Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next steps be toward Europe, the West and the United States for advancing Russian interests globally? Obviously, the policies of the Trump administration are, at best, unclear if not contradictory. Hence, Putin needs to understand who in the White House and administration is key in making policy. An iron […]

One of the most crucial issues for international security is the future of the rift between the West and Russia. Is this rift reparable? If the answer is yes, how might this be achieved? Or is this confrontation a 21st century version of the past Cold War in which the inimical interests of the parties, […]

The 2017 edition of the Strategikon Annual Book – The Year of Challenging Choices

It’s not easy to be a leader, but the solution is closer than people may think and it has to do with returning to some good old fashioned traits that shaped leaders in past decades: will power, values and vision. Launched at the Good Governance Summit, The Year of Challenging Choices strives to understand the fault lines in international relations and the relevant actors, as they are and not how they appear to be.